Legal Assistant Spent $1.4M of Firm Trust Money on Herself

A former legal assistant with a major Canadian law firm reportedly stole $1.4 million from firm trust accounts over a three-and-a-half-year period by forging attorney signatures and creating falsified checks and requisition forms, among other methods.

When bank statements arrived at Bennett Jones, in Calgary, Penny Marcy Myslichuk would remove her fraudulent checks and alter the statements to conceal her crimes, according to the Calgary Herald. She apparently had access to a considerable amount of money because of her work with dependent adults, family trusts, wills and estates.

The article doesn’t explain how the firm found out about the thefts, but says Myslichuk used the money to pay personal bills.

Myslichuk pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of forgery and seven counts of fraud exceeding $5,000. A sentencing hearing is scheduled in August.